Advertising Photographer based in Warwickshire.

I am an advertising photographer working from my base near Stratford on Avon where I have lived for the last seven years, prior to that I have lived in London, Birmingham & Spain . My work has taken me around the world but now I am concentrating on portrait based advertising, but I am able to tackle a variety of genre as I have experience in many areas.

Advertising photography has kindly allowed me to travel and enjoy a career that has spanned three decades and I have seen a massive technological change during that time, in the 1990's my work was mainly landscaped based , working for Airlines, Tourist Authorities and a great number of automotive accounts. I was very lucky to have invested in the location cameras such as Linhof Master Technika, Sinar 10x8 & Fuji 6 x 17. The large format work was a signature style that was essential for large format DPS ( Double Page Spreads) and poster printing, which before the digital revolution was the major advertising media. Many commissions would require a great deal of research and planning, often taking weeks to complete, I have included some of those projects in the Advertising photographer folio, such as the ghd shoot and the O2 shoot, Florida & New Zealand were the locations for those, chosen for weather of the landscape. A good knowledge of such locations helps, but it is the production skills of a local producer or location scout that helps get the necessary permits and arranges initial suggestions of locations, although I have experience of many trips and advertising photography shoots especially in the USA, the local knowledge of a producer helps and will provide the required insurance and permit clearance and resolve those unknown last minute issues. Pre digital, it was important to have the film processed at the location and with some projects, the images were scanned at the destination and transfered back to my retoucher in the UK to start the post production, nowadays the files are processed and transmitted as a normal workflow.

An advertising photographer now still has all the production planning to do, but with the advances in digital technology and access to such a wealth of knowledge it is easier, but it still requires research, planning and careful scheduling to ensure a campaign is delivered on time and on budget.

Historically the advertising agency would have worked with the client on a campaign for many months, a creative team and many planners and suits will have tuned a concept that may have had extensive testing and research before the creative assets are commissioned and delivered to the media, the photography is often a complimentary part of a whole strategy that leads with a commercial and is backed up with print, posters,press and even direct mail. As such the photographer is then part of the commercial film shoot, and has to use the same talent (models & Actors) as the commercial, this is never an easy way to work, but with a good agency, production crew and a buit of luck a stills shoot can be shot at the same time and all can hit the audience at the same time or as the media schedule dictates, the shoot I did for Portuguese Telecom was such a production and the series even received a gong for the portraits of Telephone business users.

More recently I have worked directly with clients, notably the London Estate agents, Marsh & Parsons, with great creative concepts from Stretton & Stretton, I have for the last 5 years helped produced a campaign that has enjoyed critical success and won most of the real estate industry marketing awards. Some stock images are used,especially with the occasional politician that has featured, but most of the campaign are cast and photographed in Warwickshire at my studio base, with a great team of hairstylists, makeup artists, stylists, assisting photographers and post production retouchers, we have produced a series of portraits that have enhanced the brand and that have entertained,communicated and sometimes provoked audiences across the capital. It is a great privilege to work with such a client.

I am hoping that I shall be considered for more campaigns and even with SME's and especially start ups, I bring the same commitment to their brand and although budgets are seen as a great issue, it's a great concept and appropriate execution and the right use of media that can work to advertise and grow a brand.

Please contact me at lorentz@gullachsen.com or call 01608 695050 and discuss your advertising photography requirements, it won't cost a penny to talk.

Q:What is an Advertising photographer?

A: A photographer who produces images that communicate to a defined audience a product,service or commercial enterprise in order to engage with the audience in a positive manner, usually commissioned by the commercial client or their agent.

Advertising Photographers Equipment?

As an advertising photographer you are required to have the appropriate equipment for the job, but as clients can be so varied and the product, service or Brand can be so diverse you can't have everything but it is expected that you have the top quality equipment and it is expected that you upgrade as often a realistically possible as the quality advances.

An Advertising photographer should at the very least have a highest Spec, DSLR or Full frame Mirrorless camera, with a reasonable amount of top quality lens. A spare body (Just in Case) and lighting that is appropriate for the job in hand. To produce the standard that is required for Print & Screen application, a Medium Format Digital camera is a necessity as POS (point of Sale) print spec requires files often in excess of 100Mb . It is essential that the photographer has PL (Public Liability) insurance, it is not usual to need £10 million worth of cover, especially in airports and high risk environments, permits and clearance at such locations is the responsibility of the photographer, so knowledge of productions and location access are part of the skill set.

I would recommend that an advertising photographer should be a member of a recognised trade association ensuring the they follow good practice and are supported if there are any problems with a commission, such as terms & conditions and credentials. Such an organisation is the Association of Photographers - AoP . this association also has awards that may help to provide an insight into the quality of photography industry top practitioners.